Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I skipped buying this book several times since I consider myself to be an intermediate knitter and I felt that I did not need another learn to knit book. My book shelf is already full of them since I am a book-taught knitter. It wasn't until I thumbed through it in a book store that I realized what a useful book this is. There is little chitchat, the instructions are clear and to the point. It gives little details that I wish I had known when i began knitting. (Such as what knitting through the back means and how to keep from creating unwanted stitches in ribbing, two things that caught me up) There is a great variety of projects. The book is divided into sections, basic knitting, cables, lace, color and so one. Each section has at least two beginner projects. Bags, hats and scarves. While the bags and scarves were very nice, I found the hats a bit too wild for my taste. But since there are so many projects to choose from, this really is not a problem. And, once the new knitter's confidence is up, there are three sweater patterns to try out as well as socks and from-the-top-down hat. As I said before, this book covers almsot anything a knitter will need to know to get up past intermediate including short rows and intarsia. There is no coverage for such newer techniques and entrelac and intarsia-in-the-round (some say THAT is impossible but others swear by it) but as a rule, such techniques are not used much in the first year of knitting. Also, this book certainly has the younger knitter in mind with its patterns. Just something to keep in mind. This book is a very complete knitting reference with clear instructions and good illustrations. However, when learning this or any craft from a book, I suggest buying more than one book on the subject so you can compare intructions, get a second opinion, etc. This book is a great place to start you on the road to knitting. Have fun!